Yahoo News Gardener's simple £5 hack to keep slugs away gets wife's seal of approval
Slugs can be a gardener's worst nightmare, causing considerable damage to delicate plants and seedlings in the blink of an eye. These small pests are unavoidable in British gardens due to our damp, mild weather conditions.
While some slug species play a vital role in decomposing organic matter like dead leaves, others are less helpful and destroy beautiful flowers. Luckily, there are effective tactics to keep these slippery creatures at bay from your garden, if you know what to do.
Social media is a useful place to find affordable tips and tricks and TikTok is no different. The Mirror reports that keen gardener @bilgemehmet23, regularly shares practical gardening tips with their followers, including a tried-and-true technique for keeping slugs at bay.
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In a recent video, avid gardener Sam detailed an often-asked question from their followers concerning a strategy to prevent slugs from causing havoc in the garden. In response, Sam offered a simple two-part solution that proved highly effective.
He demonstrated how he cuts off the bottom of a plastic plant pot so the roots can have direct contact with the soil. Next, he applies petroleum jelly or Vaseline along the edge of the pot and then sprinkles it all over with salt.
Sam insists he uses "the cheapest salt you can get around the edges". His wife, Billie, confirmed: "This actually works, guys. If we don't put it on there, by the morning, we've got a slug problem again. They just don't go near it."
Sam was seen carefully burying a pot to protect his plants, with the rim exposed to deter slugs. He explained: "So this will protect my plant, and I'll be able to water it individually as well. People laugh at me, but really, I've had a slug problem before so I just thought, let's just try it. And it's worked for us."
Dr Gordon Port, a senior lecturer at Newcastle University, told BBC Science Focus that salt is lethal to slugs because it "essentially draws the water out of their skin an osmosis effect and they die within minutes of dehydration".
Gardeners should note that while salt can be effective against slugs, it can also harm plants and disrupt soil health, so it's not advisable to sprinkle it around your garden.
For those looking to purchase salt, it's readily available at local supermarkets or online. Amazon currently offers a 750g pack of Saxa Table Salt for only £1.70.
Alternatively, Vaseline can be added to your shopping list, or you could buy a 250g tub of Nuage Everyday Essential Petroleum Jelly for £3.45 on Amazon. With these prices, protecting your garden won't set you back more than £5.15, and the products will last quite some time.
However, considering that research suggests slugs and snails may experience pain, gardeners might want to explore less harmful solutions. One such method involves creating a 'garlic wash' by boiling two bulbs of garlic in two litres of water and spraying the mixture on areas frequented by slugs, as they are repelled by strong odours.
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